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Chickadee Gardens

Gardening on two acres in northwest Oregon with a love of native plants and sustainability

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November 2021 Better Homes & Gardens Article
HPSO Article: Working for Joy Creek Nursery
Pacific Horticultre Article: Creating Place: Outdoor Sculptures of Michi Kosuge
Garden Design Article
Winterbloom Landscaping Visits Chickadee Gardens

Posts

Posted by Chickadee Gardens April 09, 2020

The Shape of Things

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens March 26, 2020

A Bright Spot

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens March 12, 2020

A Few More Native Plants

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens February 27, 2020

The February Garden

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens February 13, 2020

Nursery Visit: Xera Plants

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens February 06, 2020

Let's Go! The UC Santa Cruz Botanic Garden, Part III, South African Garden

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens January 30, 2020

The January Garden

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens January 16, 2020

Let's Go! UCSC Arboretum and Botanic Gardens Part II

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens January 09, 2020

Gardening from Space

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens January 01, 2020

2019: The Year in Review

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens December 12, 2019

Let's Go! UCSC Arboretum and Botanic Garden Part I

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens December 05, 2019

Coniferous Trees and Shrubs

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens November 21, 2019

Birds!

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens November 14, 2019

Unexpected Color

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens November 07, 2019

The Hoophouse Cometh!

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens October 31, 2019

Halloween, Chickadee Gardens Style

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens October 24, 2019

Autumn Vignettes at Chickadee Gardens

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens October 17, 2019

Finding Land: Five Years Later

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens October 10, 2019

Early Autumn

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens September 26, 2019

Our Evening Walk

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens September 19, 2019

Plant Ideas for Low Water Gardening

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens September 12, 2019

Late Summer

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens September 05, 2019

Making Peace

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All material ©2013 - 2026 by Tamara Paulat Chickadee Gardens. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited

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about Chickadee Gardens

Chickadee Gardens started as a small, green oasis in the urban center of Portland. Now it is a two-acre garden in Saint Helens, Oregon about 40 minutes northwest of Portland. We incorporate native plants throughout and practice a low-impact, sustainable approach to this land. Much of the garden is a summer-dry garden and we love experimenting with what works well in our ever-changing climate.

--------------------------------------------Bio: Gardening is an obsession for Tamara. The major impetus was in 2010 when the Backyard Habitat Certification Program caught her attention and her small Portland garden eventually gained platinum status. She began blogging about her garden at chickadeegardens.com to share what she was learning regarding sustainable practices, native plants, successes and failures. A year later, wishing to expand and challenge themselves, Tamara and her husband David purchased a home sited on two acres in Saint Helens.

Transforming what was field grass and blackberries into a thriving, diverse ecosystem these past nine years has been a labor of love for Tamara and David. The property is bordered on three sides by Douglas fir trees and mixed hedgerows, between these boundaries is a dry, sun-soaked garden with a heavy dose of West Coast native and summer-dry adapted plants. A half of an acre of the property was cleared to plant a vegetable garden and orchard. Additionally there are chickens, one turkey and mason bees loving their home, not to mention the native fauna.

She worked for Joy Creek Nursery in Scappoose for several years as the photographer, social media creator as well as helping customers choose that perfect plant up until it closed its gates in late 2021. She currently works for Cistus Nursery part-time and is having a blast learning about a whole new plant palette. As a member of the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon she has written for that group’s magazine as well as for Pacific Horticulture. She is the newest member of the Great Plant Picks selection committee, a non-profit through the Elisabeth Miller Botanical Garden in Seattle. With access to so many fantastic plants and two acres to experiment with, sharing her passion at chickadeegardens.com is a joy.

contact Tamara at chickadeegardenspdx@gmail.com @chickadeegardens.bsky.social

Blog archive at Chickadee Gardens

2026 17
- September 1
  - Let's Make a Mini Wildlife Pond
- August 2
- July 2
- June 2
- May 1
- April 3
- March 2
- February 1
- January 3

2025 24
- December 3
- November 1
- October 2
- September 2
- August 1
- July 1
- June 2
- May 3
- April 2
- March 2
- February 2
- January 3
2024 29
- December 2
- November 2
- October 3
- September 3
- August 3
- July 2
- June 2
- May 3
- April 2
- March 2
- February 3
- January 2
2023 36
- December 3
- November 4
- October 3
- September 3
- August 3
- July 3
- June 3
- May 2
- April 3
- March 3
- February 3
- January 3
2022 32
- December 3
- November 2
- October 3
- September 2
- August 2
- July 3
- June 3
- May 3
- April 3
- March 4
- February 2
- January 2
2021 33
- December 3
- November 2
- October 3
- September 3
- August 3
- July 4
- June 3
- May 2
- April 3
- March 2
- February 3
- January 2
2020 31
- December 3
- November 2
- October 3
- September 2
- August 2
- July 3
- June 2
- May 2
- April 3
- March 2
- February 3
- January 4
2019 41
- December 2
- November 3
- October 4
- September 4
- August 3
- July 3
- June 4
- May 4
- April 4
- March 3
- February 3
- January 4
2018 46
- December 4
- November 5
- October 4
- September 3
- August 4
- July 4
- June 4
- May 5
- April 4
- March 3
- February 4
- January 2
2017 43
- December 3
- November 5
- October 3
- September 3
- August 4
- July 3
- June 4
- May 3
- April 4
- March 4
- February 4
- January 3
2016 50
- December 5
- November 4
- October 4
- September 5
- August 4
- July 4
- June 4
- May 4
- April 4
- March 4
- February 4
- January 4
2015 50
- December 3
- November 3
- October 5
- September 5
- August 4
- July 5
- June 3
- May 4
- April 5
- March 4
- February 4
- January 5
2014 53
- December 4
- November 4
- October 5
- September 4
- August 4
- July 5
- June 4
- May 5
- April 4
- March 4
- February 4
- January 6
2013 18

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Chickadee Gardens

Video Tour of the Garden from Over the Fence Landscape Tours Part 1

Video Tour of Garden Part 1

Video Tour of the Garden from Over the Fence Landscape Tours Part 2

Video Tour of the Garden Part 2

Services and Products

Services & Products

November 2021 Better Homes & Gardens Article

HPSO Article - Hotter, Drier, Wetter: Preparing for Extremes

HPSO Article: Working for Joy Creek Nursery

Pacific Horticultre Article: Creating Place: Outdoor Sculptures of Michi Kosuge

Winterbloom Visits Chickadee Gardens

blogs I read

Late to the Garden Party
A Growing Obsession
Gods and Foolish Grandeur
A Way to Garden
danger garden
Dirt Therapy
Garden Rant
Digging
GardenRiots
Natural Gardening
The World's Best Gardening Blog
The Lents Farmer
Fernhaven
Just a girl with a hammer

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links!

Amy Manning - Butterfly Nectar Plants
Amy Manning - Keystone Host Plants for Caterpillars
Backyard Habitat Certification Program
Bosky Dell Native Plant Nursery for Willamette Valley
Camas Field - Liberty Hill in Saint Helens
Chickadee Gardens Facebook Page
Cistus Nursery
Cornell Project Feederwatch
Dancing Oaks Nursery
E-Garden-Go
Echo Valley Natives Plant Nursery
Great Plant Picks
Hardy Fern Foundation
Hardy Plant Society of Oregon
How to start milkweed from seed
Humble Roots Native Plant Nursery
Joy Creek Nursery
Metro Master Gardeners
Native Bee Research
Native Plant Society of Oregon
Plant Lust - Great Search Engine for Plants
Portland Ecoroof Program
Sauvie Island Natives
Soil Survey from the USDA
The Garden Fling
Video Tour of the Garden with Over the Fence Landscape Tours
Video Tour of the Garden with Over the Fence Landscape Tours Part 2
Xera Plants
Xerces Society - Bees!

followers

contact

chickadeegardenspdx@gmail.com

pinterest

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All images and content © copyright 2025 Tamara Paulat, Chickadee Gardens

labels

Anna's hummingbird9
Arctostaphylos29
Art in the Garden12
Asclepias13
Audubon Portland7
Autumn color38
Backyard Habitat Certification Program14
before and after61
Bird Creek Meadows4
birds20

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